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The event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, May 22, at Grace Baptist Church, 4197 State St. NE. Cherriots is offering free bus passes for event attendees.

"We want them to be able to walk away with something tangible, as well as hope," organizer Denis Marshall said.

The fair started last year after Marshall and Miki Todosov, nursing students at Oregon Health & Science University, were placed at Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency's ARCHES Project for their population-based care clinical.

They looked for ways to help increase the health of homeless veterans as a whole. After realizing a lack of transportation and awareness of resources were barriers to them getting health care, the pair put together a resource fair that was similar to the annual Veterans Stand Down, but focused more on medicine, Todosov said.

Oregon Health & Science University students pose for a photo after volunteering at the 2014 Operation Veterans Hope resource fair.(Photo: Special to the Statesman Journal)

The health needs of homeless veterans are similar to those of the general homeless population, Strike said. Mental health, PTSD, diabetes, high blood pressure, traumatic brain injuries are all prevalent. Since many of them don't have the right shoes and walk everywhere, foot problems are a huge problem, said Linda Strike, ARCHES program coordinator.

As Vietnam veterans age, more of them are feeling the effects of Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide used during the war, and are coming forward to get help, she said.

Last year, 83 veterans and their families were served. Through the event, ARCHES received a noticeable increase for referrals to its Supportive Services for Veterans Program, which focuses on housing for veterans, Strike said.

The fair reached veterans who were on the fringe and not currently receiving help, she said.

"They were folk who we might not have otherwise connected with," Strike said.

Homeless veterans are inherently reclusive. Some Vietnam veterans became embittered and distrustful of the government and society after they were looked down on after returning home, Marshall said.

Todosov, who served in the Macedonian military, said he wants veterans to know that they're not the government; they're just two nursing students trying to help.

"We do all this in a huge leap of faith that people will show up," Marshall said.